


The Soldier and the Saint

by MoonFacedViceroy



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alien/Human Relationships, Cowgirl Position, French Kissing, Gay, Gay Sex, Interspecies Romance, Kissing, M/M, Muscles, Oral Sex, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, Porn With Plot, Role Reversal, Romance, Science Fiction, Secret Relationship, Shyness, Simultaneous Orgasm, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-06-30 00:05:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19841347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFacedViceroy/pseuds/MoonFacedViceroy
Summary: This is a story about Jaal and Ryder joining an angaran recon team on a mission to destroy some kett technology that's preventing the terraforming of Voeld (while having plenty of fun in the meantime).Please leave me as much feedback as possible! I love writing, but I always want to get better!





	1. Chapter 1

The Soldier and the Saint

The name Ryder has two meanings. The first is from the Old English “ryd” or “ried,” a clearing in the forest that someone has called home. The second is from “ridan” or “ridere,” the original name for knights and other cavalry loyal to their kings. Through fate or coincidence, the Pathfinder has lived up to his surname...

Though the Remnant vault had calmed the skies of the nearby daars, a new anomaly has arisen on Voeld's equator and below. While the vault was capable of clearing away the more drastic storms in the northern hemisphere in the months following its activation, its tranquilizing energy is currently unable to pierce past the dividing line of the planet. Resistance intelligence suspects that the kett are employing some sort of climate adaptor system to ensure that angaran advances into kett territory are expensive and time consuming at the best, and disastrously fatal at the worst. Wishing to show the strength of the Initiative's alliance, Ryder has volunteered to assist a reconnaissance team in discovering the source of this device and disabling it while the Tempest assists with development at the Initiative's new outposts in the meantime.  
However, leading the reconnaissance team alongside Ryder is none other than Jaal, who insisted to the operation's planners that his presence on the team would maintain angaran morale despite the harsh conditions. Of course, his enthusiasm to join on the mission may have been influenced slightly by his now budding relationship with Ryder, but the lack of any questioning in his motives by the Resistance has kept him safe from any suspicion so far. Now, with the five soldiers approaching Voeld's equator, each is mentally preparing for the trek ahead of them…

"Now approaching the equator, Phoenix. Prepare for landing."  
The angaran shuttle descending through the patches of stray clouds with a low hum, Ryder shifts slightly in his seat, his hands pressed against the helmet in his lap as he looks outside in the distance. What he sees is an opaque wall of sleet and snow reaching miles into the atmosphere, no light being able to pierce the maelstrom. Few things make him jumpy, and this was a new thing to add to the list.  
"SAM?" he thinks into his own head, talking to the AI planted there, "What can you make of the situation?"  
"The storm is purely artificial, using key wind channels to deliver supercooled particles into the atmosphere," the voice replies, "Discovering the particle cooler may reveal a network for other Resistance groups to shut down."  
"So...follow the wind channels until we find something to blow up?"  
"Precisely."  
While Ryder stares into the unknown, Jaal has been keeping himself busy by getting to know the rest of Phoenix Team, all of whom seem excited to see Jaal in action. Around the passenger hold are three other angarans: Korvin, Traenid, and Veres. Korvin, a young angaran having barely reached manhood, looks towards Jaal with youthful worship, as if he were beside a renown celebrity or famous politician. Traenid, though only a few years older in age, wears the marks of a battle hardened soldier across her face, scars that remind her every day of how much the kett have taken from her. Veres, as opposed to the rest of the group, is a product of an angaran generation separate from her cooperatives, though she uses her age to enforce her maternal protectiveness over the team in a gentle way. As they finish exchanging stories and small talk, they ready their gear for the icy air of Voeld's arctic deserts. Jaal, having been glancing over at Ryder now and then, slides down the bench beside him, nudging him slightly with his shoulder.  
"Ready to land, darl - er - captain?" Jaal cuts himself off as he feels a slight blush pulse through him, remembering that his relationship for now must be a secret to ensure that Phoenix runs smoothly.  
"Ready enough to start this already," Ryder gives a grin as he nudges Jaal back. For a moment, their eyes lock, both longing to show their devotion to each other although the circumstances prevent it.   
Before any rash decisions can be made, Ryder looks away as he places his helmet on with a hiss and a click. The signature cosmetic scratch along the side of the glass/polymer visor could be buffeted away within a minute or two, but he knows that Jaal enjoys it because it shows off Ryder's "rebellious spirit in any setting, even love." Jaal, blinking a bit as he stands up, takes his own helmet down from the rack above and secures it, tightening the strap on his rifle before hefting up he ration packs that they had been supplied. Each pack provides them with enough heating, insulation, and nutrient paste to survive around a month in blizzard conditions.  
The shuttle stopping a few feet from the ground, the pilot flicks on the comms channel again, "Phoenix, you are green for departure. Isharay, and good luck." The shuttle doors whirring open, Kovin and Traenid exit one way while Jaal, Ryder, and Veres hop off the other. Their boots crunching against the undisturbed snowfall, the team turns around in time for them to wave farewell to their shuttle, hopefully seeing it again soon.  
"Alrighty, we got to the equator in one piece," Traenid remarks, "Now what?"  
"SAM says the devices use supercooled particles in the wind channels to keep the blizzards going," Ryder's voice speaks into their comms, "So, all we have to do is follow one back to the device, then shut it down."  
"That could take weeks of walking time, but I don't have any better plans," Veres replies, stretching after the long flight.  
"Alrighty," Jaal cuts in, not wanting the conversation to turn into an argument on the first day "Phoenix Team, lets move out."  
With SAM uploading the wind channel patterns of Voeld into each member's nav-terminal, the group sets off towards the ominous storm wall ahead of them, the unremarkable landscape around them reaching into infinity as introductions continue…

After a few miles of walking, the temperatures around them begin to drop steadily, snow dotting their visors as the clouds begin to roll in. As the snowflakes begin to whip and whirl, the team crosses the equator with little celebration, the worsening visibility and light penetration making the landscape an ever darkening zone. Unconsciously, rifles are gripped tighter as the thought of the unknowns hidden in the blizzard begin to mess with them. Eventually, the flatlands begin to warp and shape themselves, hills of ice and snow making the trek much more varied in ground covered. Reaching the top of a somewhat large hill, Ryder stops for a moment as he tries to peer into the dark grey storm.  
"Hey, SAM? Can you scan the area and see if you can pick up any kett signals or tire tracks?" he says aloud.  
"Scanning. Light tread tracks cross over in several places, but none are directly on the wind channel. Shall I mark the one closest to our current path?"  
"Yeah, go ahead. Maybe we can ambush a patrol or something and get a better understanding of what's nearby."  
"Very well," SAM uploads the nearest tread pattern instantaneously, most of its tracks having already been buried underneath the snow.  
"Looks like we'll have to hurry if we want to keep out trail," Ryder remarks as he begins a light jog down the hillside towards the tracks. Finding a patch after a few minutes of jogging, SAM indicates that the tracks go in two directions, possibly indicating a patrol tail or a light supply chain. Choosing a direction, the team stays relatively silent to ensure that anyone listening in on communication pathways won't be able to pick up any of their signals. However, the boredom of the journey so far is annoyingly apparent. After each hill, they hope to catch a glimpse of distant light or at least the vehicles that had made these tracks. But, the nothingness of the expanse continues onwards...

"Pathfinder," SAM suddenly speaks up, "I detect a ravine that the track patterns go through. However, the rest of the tracks are too buried to be accessible."  
"Then, I guess we'll have to make camp there until we get a lead," Ryder breaks the icy silence between them, bringing up several voices with it.  
"It would be nice to take a rest after all of this walking," Veres speaks up, having been in the middle of the group.  
"We'll need to stand guard and make sure that we don't get caught empty handed by a kett patrol," Traenid retorts, having kept up the rear of the group with her rifle constantly drawn.  
"Are there any outcroppings?" Korvin chirps in, "Like, enough to make up a room?"  
"A scan shows that there are a few recesses in the cliffsides, but I'll need a closer look to see how deep they are," SAM slides into the team's comms network to speak directly.  
"If there are, we'll have to be prepared for an ambush, Phoenix," Jaal says to the group in the sturdy voice of a seasoned Resistance officer. After a few scattered yessirs in the group, the silence sinks back in, though a new enthusiasm to reach their potential camp has slipped into their step.  
"But...if they are unoccupied, there wouldn't be any harm in...enjoying the lucky opportunity," Jaal speaks up after a bit, the warm undertone in his voice picked up by Ryder with a happy smirk.  
"I couldn't agree more," the Pathfinder chuckled a little as the darkness around them began to close in…

In the near distance, the team could make out the shadow of a mountainous rise from the snow, everyone preparing their weapons for whatever could already be camping inside. However, the closing day has made the landscape look like a moonless night, making their bright, bullseye-making headlamps necessary to not trip on the layers of rock peeking out through the snow.  
"SAM, getting anything from that ravine? These lights are gonna give us away immediately," Ryder grunts, the stock of his rifle pressed snugly into the crook of his shoulder.  
"Scanning. No heat signatures detected. No footprints detected. No kett alloys detected. In addition, the recesses I mentioned earlier are in fact deep enough for camp to be set up, but the shifting fault line collapsed access to the rest of the cave system," SAM replied in his monotone voice.  
"Looks like it's our lucky break, team," Ryder grins as he holsters his rifle.  
Quickly, Phoenix makes its way into the ravine, two deep holes in the rock leading downwards enough for each to be somewhat shielded from the elements. Using a few well-placed omni grenades, a connection between the recesses is blasted open near the rubble of the fault shift, several insulated tarps secured to the mouth of the caves to keep out the snow and wind. Unanimously, it was decided that one room would be used for sleeping while the other would be used for storage, meals, and pretty much everything else. In both, a large fuel heater resembling a campfire was placed in the center of the room, heating the cave to a comfortable temperature.  
"Now that our humble abode is finished," Ryder claps his hands together, his armor and pack in a neat pile behind him, "It's time for everyone's favorite meal: nutrient paste and compressed water."  
"Better than Traenid's cooking," Korvin chuckles as he searches through his pack. "No offense, of course, but you're much better at using a knife on kett than you are on Morrus Root."  
"None taken. After all, knowing how to cut a Morrus Root won't if we're all dead," Traenid cracks a dry smile at her own comeback.  
"Such vicious words," Veres joins in before Korvin can respond. "I remember when you two got in trouble for tying that sage's robes to a bit scaffolding so that as soon as he tried to walk away, everything would slip off!"  
This scrap of a story brings a grin to all of the team's faces, either due to imagining the situation or from reminiscing on the mischievous, and very successful, plan.  
"Well, if I ever need to pants someone, I think I know who to call," Ryder chips into the conversation with a laugh as Jaal simply watches the conversation bounce around the room. For a moment, the angaran wonders if he even needed to come along for reasons of team morale. Ryder seems to be able to bring a smile to anyone's face if given the right opportunity. It made him happy to have found such a wonderful love…

Although the conversation went on for at least ten minutes or so, the rations take a minute at the maximum to finish off. So, very soon, the time came for the team to get some sleep. It was decided that the nightly watch schedule would be Jaal, Veres, Korvin, Ryder, then Traenid. So, rolling out their sleeping pads, Jaal walked back into the other room to take his shift while the others got their well deserved rest.  
"SAM?" Ryder thought into his implant. "Tell me when the others are asleep."  
"So far, only Traenid and yourself are awake," SAM quickly replied before pausing for a moment. "Are you going to visit Jaal?"  
"Maybe," a smile dashed across his face for a moment. "Though, I have plenty of time to wait on Traenid to go to sleep first."  
"I'll turn off my input sensors, then. Requests of privacy should always be respected."  
"But, I didn't request it, SAM," Ryder playfully responded, obviously messing with SAM.  
"I predicted that you would. Was my calculation incorrect?"  
"No, no, SAM. Just messing with you," Ryder chuckled in his head, a strange feeling that was almost as strange as talking to an AI in your head.  
"Very well. Traenid is asleep, but tread lightly. Shutting off sensors now, and will only reactivate then when you step outside of a 20 foot radius from the center of the other room."  
"Thanks, SAM," Ryder feels a warm feeling of happiness as he slowly gets up, excited to share another moment with Jaal.  
Standing in the blasted-out hallway, Ryder finds Jaal sitting diagonal from him, rifle in his lap as he looks within the slivers of tarp to the blackness of Voeld's night. Though, as soon as Ryder appears, the angaran sets his rifle aside with a warm smile.  
"I thought you would be here sooner, darling one…" he lets out a giggle of quiet joy as Ryder makes his way over.  
Before saying a word, Ryder sits down close beside his love, pressing his lips against Jaal's in a warm, longing kiss, the bioelectricity under Jaal's skin making Ryder's lips tingle slightly. "You know I would, but Traenid is a light sleeper to say the least," Ryder grins wide as he pulls back, his eyes constantly locked with Jaal's.  
"Always wanting to make others smile...that's what I love about you, Ryder…" Jaal places his hand on Ryder's knee. "Of course, there are many more reasons that I can tell you…"  
"There's no need to…" Ryder chuckles a little as he puts his hand over Jaal's. "All that matters is that you love me like I love you…"  
"Actions speak louder than words, darling one…" Jaal blushes at his own comment, the pulse travelling through Ryder's hand.  
"Oh?" Jaal's forwardness makes even Ryder blush a little. "Why don't you show me what you mean?"  
"Of course…" Jaal pulls up his hand away from Ryder's leg as places them on his chest. Slowly pushing him onto the ground from a sitting position, Jaal lays prone above Ryder, the heat between them warming their blood as Jaal kisses Ryder passionately, their tongues interlocking as the angaran's hands grip Ryder's sides. Ryder's arms wrapping around Jaal, their kiss deepens even more as Jaal lets out a sigh of satisfaction. Finally, he's capable of showing his love once again, and in the best possible way.  
As he begins to lift Ryder's shirt, Ryder's arms slide downwards, giving his toned ass a firm, enticing squeeze. The result is a shocking pulse from Jaal as he gasps for a moment, pulling away only to slide Ryder's shirt off completely. At the same time, the angaran feels his pants and undergarments slide down his thighs his legs squirming slightly to get them completely off as Jaal quickly works to do the same.  
"I love you, Ryder…" Jaal whispers as his passionate love mixes with his natural instincts, his hands working to quickly slide down Ryder's pants and undergarments. "More than anything in this universe…" As his hot breath pours down Ryder's neck, Jaal begins to plant warm, wet kisses down his lover's body, travelling down his neck and chest and across his abdomen.  
"Oh, Jaal…" Ryder sighs as he shivers from each wet kiss, gasping as he feels Jaal's soft lips against the tip of his manhood. Dragging his tongue over his cockhead, Jaal slides himself deeper and deeper, looking upwards the entire time as he pleasures his love, his darling one. Letting out a hum of satisfaction, the angaran lifts his lips up from Ryder's shaft as a mischievous smile grows across his face.  
"Every taste of you is better than the last, darling one…" his voice is low and sensual, his lover's dick pressed against his cheek as he talks.  
"And it feels better each time, too," Ryder lets out a light giggle as he locks his eyes with Jaal's, each savoring each moment they have with each other. "But...I want to try something new this time…"  
"Whatever you like, darling…" Jaal blushes a little at the idea of what Ryder may be thinking. "Just tell me and I'll do it."  
"Sit up on that boulder over there," Ryder notions to a large rock that had been fired out of the blast to the opposite wall, leaving a small amount of rubble around it.  
"Right there? Well, I suppose you having something very exciting in mind…" Jaal chuckles slightly as he gets up, curious and anxious to see what Ryder has in mind. As he walks by, Ryder gets a glimpse of his lover's manhood from beneath his rofjinn, the half-hard shaft flopping between his legs this way and that. Looks like he'll need to make sure his love is prepared, the Pathfinder thinks to himself, glad that SAM had insisted on turning off his sensors for this.  
Sitting down on the boulder with a soft sigh, the angaran looks over at Ryder with curiosity, undoing his armor and rofjinn as he waits for him to make his way over. Instinctually, he leaves his legs spread out a comfortable distance apart, not paying attention to his own impressive shaft laying against the warm rock. However, seeing Ryder's eyes begin to drift downwards, the angaran blushes deeply enough for it to be visual, tucking his legs together politely.   
"I - um - didn't notice that I was so...visible to you," he manages to quickly sputter out, avoiding eye contact with Ryder due to his embarrassment.  
"Is there something wrong with that?" Ryder chuckles at Jaal's shyness, his own cock pulsing and glistening with angaran saliva. As he nears the boulder, he kneels down in front of his love, placing his hands on Jaal's knees as he looks up at his shocked face. "Wasn't expecting this, huh?"  
"B-But - um - You want to, uh, do *this*?" Jaal's bewilderment pulses underneath his skin, tingling Ryder's fingertips as he waits to reply. "I thought you were more interested in, um, receiving something like this…"  
"I'm interested in making you happy, Jaal," Ryder says back with a smirk, "Plus, I can't let you do all the tasting. I'm too curious."  
"I love you, Ryder...You have no idea how much I've wanted this…" Jaal lays his hands slightly behind him as he parts his legs, showing off his now-fully-hard dick to his lover. The base of his shaft is the same milky white as the rest of his abdomen, but the rest of his length gradually fades into a light violet, the girth of his cock textured with a natural ribbing.  
"Well, then...Looks like you have plenty for me to taste…" Ryder smirks at the angaran's sizeable package before leaning forward to plant a warm kiss on his cock.  
"A-Ah…" Jaal stutters out a sigh of pleasure as he balls up his hands into fists, Ryder's lips tingling from the bioelectricity as he slowly slides more of the warm, throbbing cock over his tongue. Though he keeps his eyes on his love's face, Jaal can't return his gaze as he is too busy squirming at the unique texture of his darling one's tongue. He would never admit it, but Jaal had been dreaming of this moment coming true for days, having to even excuse himself from a crew meeting once so as to hide his growing bulge. Now, his dreams were coming true in the best possible way.  
Grinning at the corners of his mouth as he slides deeper, Ryder relaxes the back of his mouth to make sure he didn't gag, his tongue exploring his lover's shaft. One hand massaging the rest of Jaal's cock, the other cradles the angaran's balls, the smooth, hairless skin slick with sweat as a passionate moan escapes Jaal's lips.  
"You are amazing, darling one…" Jaal pants with pleasure as he gently presses his hand downwards, biting his lip as he feels Ryder's throat tighten around his warm shaft. Without thinking, he presses his love further, his eyes fluttering open as he feels Ryder's lips at the base of his shaft. "O-Oh my...I feel like I've been a little greedy with your, um, mouth…" he pulses out a blush as he looks down into his eyes.  
His throat bulging outwards slightly at the angaran's full cock, Ryder gives back a playful wink before sliding upwards once again, a string of saliva connecting his lips to Jaal's cockhead as he speaks.   
"Now for the best part…" he gives another lusty smirk as he climbs up onto Jaal, sitting on his toned legs as their cocks throb against each other. "Um, do you mind picking me up for this part?"  
"Picking you up? You want me to - um - that?" Jaal's voice is perplexed, as if he hasn't fully comprehended the situation. "B-But we have never done that before, darling one. Are you sure you me to be the, uh, first to do, um, that? After all, you were the first one to-"  
Before he can continue, Ryder presses his lips against Jaal's, wrapping his arms around his neck as he feels the angaran's hands on his thighs. "I definitely want you to be first...and hopefully second, too," he chuckles before reconnecting their kiss.  
Lifting Ryder upwards and slightly closer, Jaal's mind is a mixture of excitement and confusion. Never has he fantasized that something like this would happen, nor does he have any idea what to expect. However, his confusion and curiosity are switched out with new pleasure as his cock slides against Ryder's tight ass, the sensation giving shivers to both of the lovers as Ryder shifts his weight downwards. Eyes firing open, Jaal gasps at the electrifying pleasure arcing across his body as he begins making love to his darling one, his shaft stretching Ryder's hole gently and smoothly. Against his love's lips, Jaal moans loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls as their tongues press against each other.  
Gripping onto Jaal's shoulders tightly, Ryder exhales a warm breath through his nose as he finds himself now only suspended by the angaran's powerful arms, the warmth of his lover's shaft sending waves of pleasure through him as his own dick drools against his muscled, violet chest. Relaxing his asshole to the best of his mental capacity, he passionately deepens the kiss with his love, savoring the mixture of sweat and saliva as Jaal's tongue returns the favor. He had taken a gamble with being so forward with the angaran on his desire to switch their roles around, and he had won in so many ways. Each ribbed inch of Jaal's cock teasing his ass, Ryder grinds back and forth, feeling the shaft inside him press against his tight walls.  
Gasping at the new sensation, Jaal bucks upwards in surprise a few inches deeper into Ryder, forcing out a sudden combination of a squeak and a moan as he blushes in embarrassment. "A-Are you alright, darling? I didn't mean to slide so much in at once," his voice is shy, even though he is very much in control of the situation.  
"Mmh...You're fine, Jaal…" Ryder replies as he feels his asshole clench a bit tighter, the heat of Jaal's crotch indicating that he wasn't far from taking the entirety of his shaft. "Go at whatever pace you want...I'm yours, lover-mine…"  
"Ryder…" Jaal sighs as he lets Ryder reach the base of his cock, slowly sliding him up around halfway before bringing him back down again. As he does so, his arms shake from the endless pleasure, his tongue lolling out of his open mouth as he lets out quick, short pants. Gradually, his motions grow quicker as Ryder's asshole relaxes around his wide girth, his chest smeared with precum as he embraces his lover. "Stars…" he manages to whisper as Ryder bites his lip in enjoyment, "I will not last much longer, lover…"  
"You don't...need to…," Ryder lets out a low moan as he feels his shaft throb as it prods Jaal's chest, precum drooling down his shaft as he nears his own climax. "I love you, Jaal…"  
"I love you, Ryder…" the angaran exclaims as he kisses his darling one deeply, still gently sliding Ryder up and down his shaft as it begins to swell with his seed. Biting on his lover's tongue, he presses his groin against Ryder's asshole, his balls twitching slightly as he climaxes deep inside his love. As his angaran seed continues to gush deeper, Jaal feels the hot spray of Ryder's own orgasm against his chest, the warmth running over his abdomen as he savors another kiss.  
In the aftershocks of their climaxes, Jaal and Ryder stay interlocked lovers for minutes, embracing their true love with complete vulnerability. Their eyes closed and their tongues joined, they want nothing more than to love each other with all their hearts...

In this moment, this truth would be obvious to anyone. And it was to the silhouette in the corner of the hallway…


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For days, Phoenix Team has no other choice but to camp out in the ravine, the lack of anything to do slowly wearing down their morale as boredom sinks in like ice. Despite the decline in enthusiasm, Ryder and Jaal try their best to keep their partner's spirits up, accompanying each other on their night shifts and enjoying every moment they can with their love. For the most part, the other members of the team seem oblivious to their affection, and the two hope to keep it that way for the rest of the mission. One day, they'll be able to show their love openly and without fear, but now is not that day. Rations slowly shaving away, the strike force waits for any signs of life approaching, though doubts are beginning to spring up as the blizzard continues to roar…

The dark grey landscape lightening as the sun rises again, Traenid makes her way back into the team's sleeping quarters, slinging her rifle on her shoulder as she claps her hands together.  
"Alrighty, Phoenix Team, rise and shine," her voice echoes around the stone walls as the others begin to shift. "If anyone needs me, I'll be inspecting the gear for the fifth day in a row."  
"I think it's still gonna be the same, Traenid," Korvin chuckles as he leans upwards, his neck a bit sore from the thinness of his sleeping mat.  
"Well, when you can think of a better way that I can spend my time, let me know," she retorts before turning back into the other room.  
Though the conversation had been light, a twinge of frustration clung in the air, marking another day of worsening relations in the group. However, halfway through suiting-up, SAM spoke up within Ryder's consciousness, "Pathfinder, I am detecting several heat signatures approaching the ravine. The track patterns match the same ones as the trail we followed here."  
"What direction are they coming from, SAM?" Ryder replied, tossing on a shoulder plate and locking it with a click. "How much time before they arrive?"  
"Deeper into the blizzard, and they will be here in approximately three minutes," SAM answered quickly before adding, "Attaching several omni-genades at key fracture points on the sides of the ravine will allow you to block off the path and ambush them. However, this will also mean that you will be unable to return to the equator on our original path."  
"It's a risk we'll have to take," Ryder says before standing up. "Phoenix Team, we have kett inbound from the south. SAM said we'll need to place grenades before they arrive, then take them by surprise."  
"Finally!" Traenid speaks up from the other room, the sound of her bootsteps thumping out as she makes her way back into the first room. Under one of her arms is her helmet, with the other holding a satchel of explosives. Setting the satchel down carefully, she slides on her helmet and locks it, Ryder following suit while Jaal gets ready with the others.  
"We'll stay here and close off their escape route while you take the higher ground," Jaal tells Ryder as he passes Veres a pistol, the team excited to finally see action again. "Be careful out there, captain. You, too, Traenid."  
Their life support packs whirring on, Ryder and Traenid wave back at the rest of the group before venturing beyond the protective covering of their camp, the nav points of the fracture sites dotting the sides of the ravine in their visors as they prepare for the kett…

Locking the last omni grenade into place, Ryder lets out a sigh as the icy wind whips around him, shifting his head slightly to trigger his communication channel. "How are those grenades coming, Traenid?" he says before taking a deep breath, some of the cold still slipping past his armor's insulation.  
"Just one more left, sir," she replies with a grunt, "Also, my short range scanner is picking up that patrol your AI found. I'm thinking it's a heavy transport and a few escort vehicles."  
"Pathfinder," SAM cuts in before Ryder can respond, "I can reroute your life support detectors into your heads-up display so that both of you can see the kett forces via heat signatures. So long as you keep moving, both of you will be practically undetectable in the blizzard."  
"That's amazing news," Ryder exclaims, pulling himself onto a narrow pathway covered in snow. "Traenid, SAM is going to reroute our life support so that we can detect kett thermals. Just keep moving around and they won't be able to know where you are."  
"They won't know what hit them," the angaran chuckles in response. "Final grenade is placed. You've got the remote, so let's clear out of here and get into a more defensible position."  
"Keep this channel open in case anyone needs us down there," Ryder says, the frozen snow underneath his boots crunching loudly. Soon, he found an outcropping large enough for him to hide behind and far enough from the blast zone. On his scanner, he could see the red blips slowly inch closer to the ravine, his arms shaking slightly as he unslings his rifle. The hum of a distant motor now mixing with the wind, he detaches an electronic detonator from his belt, the system rigged to explode on his command. In a few moments, the motor begins to roar louder and louder, the whine or smaller vehicles joining the choir and the rock begins to rumble slightly. Suddenly, a dark silhouette of the transport comes into view, the other end of the ravine a few hundred yards away.   
As the transport crawls past the team's hidden camp, Ryder presses the detonator, the device giving off a small beep before the mouth of the ravine is shattered by the explosion. Immediately, the pass is filled with the sound of crashing boulders and a dark cloud of quickly freezing smoke. Shiving from the might of the explosive power, Ryder grins from within his helmet, as he drops the detonator in the snow, lodging the barrel of his rifle against the side of a boulder. Several red outlines surrounding the transport now getting off their vehicles and gripping their weapons, Ryder holds his breath for a moment before firing, his body recoiling from the kickback as the now dead kett soldier is thrown to the ground. Breaking the silence of the ravine with the gunshot, Jaal and the others on the ground spark their ambush, the other end of the canyon bursting to life with a mixture of orange and emerald flashes of gunfire. Realizing they've walked into the team's trap, the escorts fall back to the newly made rubble heap, the transport's lights flaring as more kett rush out into the freezing battlefield.  
Taking cover behind several boulders, the kett return fire at the ground forces, the plasma bolts shrieking across the ravine as a flash of green on the other side gives out Traenid's position. Pressing his visor against his rifle again, Ryder picks off another member of the patrol, quickly ducking down as a volley of searing plasma burns into the rocks above. Laying on his belly, his armor scrapes as he crawls through the snow, the ground team taking positions around the now abandoned kett machinery as they fire off from within cover. Making his way to a small collection of rocks, Ryder stops for a moment as he tries to take view of the situation. From where he is, he can see that the team was able to take down around a quarter of the patrol in the ambush, though most of what they attacked was cannon fodder already. Aiming towards the back of the group, he sees one of the bulkier kett preparing for a counterattack, the weight of his weapon forcing him to hold it underneath his waist. After a moment, the ravine flashes as plasma bolts erupt across towards the ground team, the weapon launching it roaring over the rest of the gunfire. Lining up, Ryder misses his chance as the kett is knocked backwards by one of Traenid's shots, switching his focus to one much closer to the ground team. The kett falling against the ground as the bullet pierces his back, Ryder tries his best to duck down, his shoulder plate clipped by a stray bullet as he patches in the ground team.  
"Jaal, how are things going down there?" he grunts out, the gunfire almost drowning him out as he tries to move again. He wouldn't tell his love, or anyone in fact, but Ryder had a nagging fear of these comms devices. After recovering the salarian ark, he never knew if his question would be met with silence or not, and his paranoia only worsened when trying to contact Jaal.  
"Ngh. I would have preferred if our ambush had worked better, but we're still here," he replies before a round of gunfire rings out. "Keep pushing the attack up there, but don't overextend yourself, okay?"  
"Don't worry," Ryder replies as he crawls past an open stretch of rock, bits of the rock raining on him as the wall above him is dotted with plasma bolts. Suddenly, a spear of electricity erupts from one of the kett as their shield is overloaded, the current rushing to the nearby soldiers around it before all of them crumple to the ground. Now, the enemy was quickly running out of space and manpower, though they seem to have no intentions of surrender. Finding another boulder to take cover behind, Ryder aims towards the back of the group, where several kett seem to be coordinating the others, or at least trying to bolster their morale. The thermal sensor showing a splatter from its chest, Ryder slips back into cover as he ejects the thermal clip, the snow hissing where it fell as he loads a new one in.  
Suddenly, however, a dark shape hits the rock wall behind him with a metallic ring before knocking into his boot. With the grenades timer ticking and plasma still raining around him, Ryder has no choice. Diving off of the ledge, he is thrown forward by the force of the grenade destroying the pathway behind him, his rifle swirling above him as he plummets towards the ground. His arms waving back and forth in an attempt to stabilize himself, his torso slams hard into the packed snow, the mixture of ice and rock scraping against his plate metal as he rolls to an unceremonial stop. Scrambling towards the ground team, Ryder quickly begins to feel colder as he reaches for the pistol on his side, Traenid still picking off kett from her vantage point.  
"Pathfinder, your life support system has been severely damaged," SAM's voice rises above the chaos around him. "Exposure to the elements would surely be fatal. I recommend either returning to the camp or using the kett transport until the kett are eliminated."  
"Great…" Ryder groans as he continues his crawl to safety, the temperature dropping to the point that his breath plumes outwards. "Phoenix Team, my life support got damaged. I'm going to see if I can use this transport to flush them out."  
"We'll cover you," Veres speaks up since the beginning of the fight, her voice interrupted by occasional breaths. "Get in there before you catch your death, Ryder."  
As the comm link disconnects, a roar of gunfire lashes out towards the kett, giving Ryder a narrow window to launch himself off of his stomach and bolt at the transport, the motor still humming as he leaps for a handrail. Though the freezing metal bites through his suit, he clambers inside and slams the door shut, quickly closing the others before letting out a sigh of relief. Unlocking his helmet, the warm air of the transport rushes over his face, the gunshots outside muffled by the heavy plating of the kett machinery. In front of Ryder is a pair of seats and a control board filled with levers and switches, a dark orange hologram giving any pilots a basic layout of the ravine without the need for a window.  
"SAM, how do I work this thing?" Ryder swivels a chair around and falls into it, jolting back up as a sharp pain shoots through his lower back. Detaching his life support pack, it falls thumps loudly on the floor, a jagged edge of the twisted metal having slid past his plating and cut his back. "Yeowch!" Ryder exclaims as his hand presses against the tear in his suit, his fingers coming back with a smear of blood, but nothing to worry about for now.  
"Attempting to translate labels on the control panel. The two main levers control acceleration and steering," SAM answers the Pathfinder as he tries to sit in the chair a second time. "There are no pedals, and other functions can be explained later."  
"Got it," Ryder replies out loud, shifting a little before grabbing a large lever that goes up and down. Easing it upwards, the machine rumbles to life, moving forward at a snail's pace while the transport's plating begins to ring from the sound of gunfire hitting it.  
"That did it, Ryder!," Jaal exclaims as the ground team slowly advances behind the massive vehicle. On one corner is Jaal, using his seniority to its advantage, while Korvin takes the other, with Veres in the center. Now and then, Korvin peeks out from beyond his moving cover, firing several shots into the blizzard with no luck at hitting a target. However, Jaal has already picked off several kett by following the lights of their gunfire, dividing his time between killing kett and keeping an eye on where Traenid is on the high ground. "Traenid, fall back and keep your position behind good cover. We will finish off the patrol soon. Veres, keep your medical supplies prepared if any of us get injured. And Korvin, fire in controlled bursts or you'll lose control of your rifle." Jaal is in his element, coordinating every part of the team and advising them to make sure nobody gets hurt. He can handle damaging equipment and supplies during a mission, but living casualties are usually met with a wave of guilt and self-disappointment. Perfectionism and empathy aren't kind traits for the battlefield, but the angaran persists nonetheless. Passing a low stack of boulders, Jaal fires a plasma bolt into an enemy's gut, firing a second into their sternum before they can react. As another tries to run for cover, Korvin fires several rounds at them, the kett stumbling into the snow as its leg is torn through by the bullets. "Hah! I got him!" the young angaran shouts in a mixture of satisfaction and shock, loading a fresh thermal clip as the ground turns rockier by the second.  
"Pathfinder," SAM speaks as Ryder continues the crawl forward, "You are nearing the end of the ravine. Press the button just below the turning lever to mag-lock the doors."  
"Got it," Ryder quickly presses it, the pain in his back a dull throb now. "How are the others doing out there?"  
"The ground team is quickly overtaking the rest of the enemy forces. No emergency signals have been transmitted from the patrol."  
"And Traenid?" Ryder asks.  
"Currently retreating to regroup with the ground team," SAM answers as the transport begins to climb uphill.  
Whittling down the remaining kett, the transport passes the soldier that Korvin had hit, the snow almost black from its blood. From the limpness of the body, it seems that Korvin had severed a major artery, the kett bleeding out before the transport passed. His eyes widening at his first kill, the young angaran goes pale with nausea, forcing himself to close his eyes as he takes several deep breaths. Meanwhile, Traenid is capable at her vantage point to pick up his slack, both her and Jaal gunning down the retreating kett as they run out of cover. In a vain attempt, the last of the kett fire wildly into the ravine, the gunfire ringing for a few seconds before Jaal fires a bolt into its chest, Traenid following up with another in the kett's neck. Breathing heavily, Jaal slings his rifle with a smile, "The area is clear, captain. Awaiting your orders."  
"Help me park this thing by the camp so I don't freeze trying to get inside," Ryder chuckles, relieved that the fight was over as he pulls the lever in reverse...

After several minutes of lining the transport correctly, Ryder cuts off the engine and rises up, pain shooting through his back as his wound reopens. Keeping his hand pressed tight on the cut, he releases the mag-lock and opens the hatch, quickly trudging past the environment tarp and back into the warm fires of their camp. "Ahh...nothing beats these heaters, I'm telling you," he chuckles as he detaches his armor and tosses it onto his mat, the others piling in with Jaal at the rear. However, when he enters, he lights out a gasp of shock and horror.  
"Ryder, you're bleeding," Jaal's voice is heavy with concern as he quickly makes his way over to the Pathfinder. A crimson-red wet spot on the back of his undershirt is soaked with blood, Jaal pulling the fabric upwards to look at the wound before Ryder takes it off completely.  
"And I ruined a perfectly good short in the process," Ryder chuckles as he tosses the cloth against the wall, the others beginning to lay their equipment down. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."  
"Let's have Veres inspect it first," Jaal replies, obviously not going to take no for an answer. "Here, lay on my mat and let her take a closer look."  
"Geez, it's just like that bike wreck in high school all over again…" Ryder groans as Veres hides a giggle, Jaal kneeling beside her as she looks over the wound.  
"Hmm...the cut *was* a bit deeper than I was hoping, but some of that medi-gel your people brought along will most likely heal it in a week or so," she shrugs a bit, Ryder wincing as she tries to push the edges of his torn skin back together. "But, we will need to be on the move in a few hours now that the kett are missing a patrol. I'll check and see if there's any medical equipment in the transport I can repurpose."  
"Thank you, Veres," Jaal feigns a smile as he watches her walk out into the transport, Traenid clapping Korvin on the shoulder as he jolts a little.  
"Don't think I didn't see you get that kett earlier," Traenid chuckles loudly, "Our little Korvin is finally growing up into a big soldier like me! Soon, he'll be shredding through them like adhi through a goag calf!"  
"Har har," Korvin plays along as he nudges into Traenid, grinning at her praise despite the nagging image of the icy slurry of black blood in the back of his head. "I just hope you aren't afraid of the competition."  
"Pfft! I don't think I'll have to worry about that," Traenid scoffs back, "I'll join a monastery before I let you go over my kill count."  
"Quit your bickering, you two," Veres chides the two as she slips back inside. "I assure you, there will be plenty if kett for you to blast in the near future. As for our captain Ryder here..." she turns towards Jaal as she walks around to the other side of the matt, "I can rig together one of their stasis pods to work similar to something his kind call a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. It will help his body seal up the wound naturally, but he'll have to stay in there for a few days. Jaal, can you help me carry him to the transport?"  
"Certainly," Jaal speaks up, lifting his side of the mat with a grunt as Ryder shakes his head slightly. "Though, shouldn't we protect him from the elements somehow?"  
"Don't worry. I know technology almost as well as medicine. I'll route my life support systems through a kinetic shield, then amplify the shield to make a bubble around us," Veres smiles warmly, her love of science mixed in with her love of teaching others."  
"Not to interrupt all of this, but…" Ryder starts to say, "Why didn't you just do that so I could get inside?"  
"I thought it was funny seeing you trying to line it up perfectly," Veres chuckles lightly, Ryder cracking a smile as they move past the environment tarp and into the transport. "I also wouldn't mind a helping hand with all of this constructing, if you don't mind."  
"Not at all," Jaal cracks a smile as he lifts Ryder inside before setting him down on the floor, heading over to help Veres with the stasis pod…

After an hour or two of rerouting systems and testing procedures, the healing pod seems to be good enough for use. Though SAM had offered to help maximize the efficiency of the pod, Veres only allowed him to advise on certain sections of the project, such as how to draw power from the generator to power the element zero core without killing the vehicle. With wires sticking out here and there and the base technology a piled-up mess, Jaal and Veres lift Ryder onto the bed and fire it up, the element zero allowing the Pathfinder to levitate a few inches from the bedding while the salvaged life support system kept a steady stream of purified oxygen in the mass effect field. After a moment, Ryder swings his legs slightly, the feeling of levitation always making him a little uneven.  
"How do you feel, Ryder?" Veres asks, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Any new pains or strange feelings?  
"I feel fine, Doc, really," Ryder groans a little before taking a deep breath, the compressed atmosphere forcing more oxygen into his lungs than usual in a strangely soothing way "No aches or pains save for the cut in my back."  
"Good, good," Veres chirps as she takes another look at her contraption at work. "And Jaal, thank you for your help. A fresh pair of eyes and a strong pair of arms work wonders."  
"I'm glad I could help you out," Jaal smiles back at her while Ryder manages to turn himself so that he's laying on his back. "I try to do anything for a team member."  
"Oh? Is Ryder just a team member?" Veres smirks as she begins towards the front of the transport. "You two kiss a lot more than I did with my teammates…"  
"W-What?!"  
"Huh?!" Ryder cranes his neck over in surprise as Jaal flushes a light pink, both a bit shocked at Veres' revelation.  
"Don't worry, lovebirds," Veres giggles as she stops by the closed latch. "Your secret is safe with me, I promise. I'll give you two some time alone, and I'll tell them that you found something to put on your gun or something. But, I do hope you intend on making this love more open than cuddling on night shifts. Most angara will approve of such a loving couple."  
"Yes, well, um," Jaal stutters for something to say, "Thank you, Veres. One of us will find the time to tell the others. Soon, I promise."  
"Oh, to be young and in love…" Veres chuckles as she opens the hatch into the blizzard. "I'll knock when we're taking out rations. And also, I'd keep the, erm, 'intimate cuddling' for after that cut heals since-"  
"Thank you very much, Veres!" Jaal cuts above her as he blushes deeper, the doctor letting out a cackle of delight before shutting the door for the lovers. Letting out a sigh as his shoulders relax a little, Jaal turns around to Ryder, who gives him a tickled smirk. "I hate having those conversations. Next time, could you be the one to talk to her?"  
"Well, I guess it's only fair after how that went," he chuckles lightly as Jaal tries to smile back, obviously a bit embarrassed. "At least we're alone now, and we won't have to come up with a lie when she comes in anymore."  
"I suppose there are some benefits to her knowing," Jaal quips as he walks towards the hyperbaric pod, shaking his head a little while looking over Ryder's form. "When I asked for you to be careful, I was hoping that we could avoid something like this."  
"It's just a flesh wound, Jaal," Ryder shrugs as he floats there, the concern in his love's eyes making him a bit guilty at his recklessness.  
"I know, but..." Jaal trails off, his hand tingling slightly as reaches out to lock it with Ryder's. "I love you more than anything in this universe, darling one."  
"So do I," Ryder squeezes the angara's hand as he speaks. "We live dangerous, exciting lives, Jaal. Every moment is a new adventure, a new opportunity. I can't not go into such a wide unknown."  
"I understand…" Jaal frowns as his heart throbs in his throat, his worries and fears rising to the surface as Ryder turns to put his other hand on his shoulder.  
"Jaal, I can't do it without you, though. You're my reason to explore," Ryder leans a bit closer, trying to not open the wound. "I want you by my side every step of the way. We'll find and fight and save until this is over."  
"The end is so far away, my love," Jaal leans his head against Ryder's hand, closing his eyes as he continues to frown. "I am weary, and I know you are, too, though you hide it better."  
"Jaal…" Ryder's mouth quivers slightly as he tries to find the right words. "After this is over, I'm going to take you on the most beautiful vacation ever. With beaches and waterfalls and whatever you like. But you have to be strong for this team first. For me. Be my hero, Jaal."  
Through the hurt and confusion, the words strike a chord with Jaal, his hand squeezing harder as he tries to take a deep breath. "I will try, my darling one."  
"That's all I want, Jaal," Ryder leans forward further as he uses his hand to pull Jaal into an embrace, his lips warm against the angaran's as he tries to soothe their heartaches. "You're braver than me, Jaal. And twice as caring."  
"Nonsense," Jaal tries to smile again from Ryder's compliments, "You were alone on that ledge while I stayed with Korvin and Veres."  
"Meaning you got the brunt of the attack, hero," Ryder grins a bit at his lover's smile, "And, it takes a lot more bravery to love an alien from an entirely different galaxy who came out of nowhere."  
"Not when it's you, darling one," Jaal manages a chuckle as the two embrace a second time, the two holding each other tightly. "Not when it's you…"


	3. Chapter 3

After finishing up a light supper, the team prepares to depart out into the frozen expanse through the comfort of their newly captured transport, SAM's new connection to the vehicle allowing him to maintain a connection to its systems and assist the driver as needed. Extinguishing their oil heaters as they unpin the environment tarp, the freezing winds they were protected from quickly penetrate the now empty rooms, the dark grey sky indicating that evening is quickly approaching. The last of the cargo lining either side of Ryder's hyperbaric field, Traenid flicks several switches as the motors roar to life through the insulated bulkheads, cases rattling slightly before the transport lurches forward.  
"Um, SAM?" Traenid speaks to the AI with cautious curiosity the hologram in front of her giving a detailed layout of the ravine. "Any idea how far away this outpost is?"  
"Calculating," SAM's voice reverberates through the vehicle as he continues. "The engine of this transport relies on pressurized helium-3 tanks supplemented with octane-rich petrol vapor. Around two-thirds of the fuel reserves have already been consumed."  
"So, they've been doing multiple trips without refueling to save every drop," Traenid theorizes as she swivels the transport around. "They must be running out of resources due to the Resistance's orbital blockade."  
"That is most likely the reason," SAM replies. "Sensors are detecting oxidation at the top of the petrol cells, indicating that a complete refueling has not been performed for an extended amount of time."  
"Which means we don't know how far this road goes, but it's at least far enough for this vapor mixture to get us there," Traenid continues, her voice low as the intellect underneath her battlefield demeanor shows. "Any ideas on the fuel efficiency of this stuff, SAM?"  
"Running hypothetical procedure," SAM pauses for a moment as it performs an entire theoretical experiment within its databanks in mere seconds. "With our current reserves at the average speed of the transport on a flat surface, we would be capable of travelling approximately 4139 kilometers over the course of 56 days of consecutive driving."  
"Well, let's hope it's not that long," Traenid tries to bring up a chuckle, swiveling around as she sets an autopilot mode on. "If we run out of food, I vote Korvin to be the first to get eaten."  
"Why am I always the first person to go when you do that bit?!" Korvin groans, Veres and Jaal cracking a smile at their bickering as Ryder dozes in the pod. "If you remember, I placed eight points above you on the final exam at our academy!"  
"Sure, sure...but that's if you look at overall," Traenid leans over as she prods at him with her words. "I was eleven points over you in survival and sixteen points over in martial skills. So, if any of us should be ranked as soldiers, you're definitely a bit behind the rest of us."  
"But I beat you at everything else, Traenid," Korvin shoots back, a bit hurt by her last sentence as he crosses his arms. "So there."  
"How about nobody eats anyone and we just find a new way back to the equator if our supplies get too low, hmm?" Veres chuckles a bit as she joins in the fight, shifting the focus away from the competition. "Plus, I don't think Korvin would taste very good. Too skinny for anything worthwhile!"  
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Korvin cranes his neck around as Veres cackles. "I would taste fine, thank you very much! I just don't want it to happen any time soon."  
"I think that I'm going to get a little sleep, brave cannibals," Jaal smirks a bit as he turns towards one of the remaining stasis pods, sneaking a glimpse at Ryder as he crawls into it. With all of the features meant to stimulate kett via chemical injections already deactivated by SAM, Jaal lets out a relaxed sigh as he lays down while still dressed, the flexible polymers that make up the padding conforming perfectly to his physique. Within minutes, he falls asleep, leaving the others to pilot the transport and keep the conversation alive…

After a few hours, the team sinks back into boredom, Traenid eventually the only one left awake for a little bit. Sometime during her shift, SAM starts to play music that he had logged when Ryder has listened to it, the beat mixing with the hum of the engine as she makes slight corrections here and there to keep herself from falling asleep herself.  
"Ngh…" Ryder lets out a grunt as he slowly wakes up from his nap, his eyelids still heavy as he turns onto his side to look over at the driver's seat. "I think I've heard this song before, Traenid."  
"SAM thinks that you have, too," she scoffs as she turns her head for a moment. In the glow of the hologram, her reddish-violet skin loses its own color as it gets covered by the orange light. "Some start to a mission, huh?"  
"Tell me about it," Ryder grins a bit as he hesitantly places a finger near the cut, dried blood caked on the skin. "I thought my shield would hold up long enough for me to get out of the air, but it had different plans."  
"Just be lucky they hit the pack instead of you," the angara replies as she spins back around. Untucking her undershirt, she turns to show a blackened splotch on her side, the whole area a few inches in diameter. "Those plasma bolts hurt for weeks after they stop burning, and the scars aren't too pretty either."  
"Damn," Ryder winces a little at her battle scar, spinning so that he floats on his stomach. Just below his shoulder socket is his own gunshot scar, the skin contorted and discolored slightly. "I got this one back when I was in the Alliance. Trust me: cover tends to do a lot better when you're behind it."  
"Some lessons are best learned in practice, it seems," she chuckles a bit as Ryder resettles himself, letting out a sigh as she looks for something to talk about. "So, is there anyone that you're fighting the kett for?"  
"What do you mean?" Ryder turns in her direction, though he already has an idea of what she's going to say.  
"Well, not many people would so quickly join a mission like this. The rest of us - me, Korvin, Jaal - there's a purpose behind our fighting. We're trying to save our home from these invaders that have been here for nearly eighty years. But, then there's you," she turns around for a second to ensure the autopilot was still picking up the trail. "Surely, such enthusiasm must have something more than a helpful nature behind it."  
"Well...I guess you could say there's someone I'm thinking about," Ryder tiptoes around the question, cracking a smile. "He's amazing. Smart, cute, and a great kisser."  
"Pfft. Lucky," Traenid cuts in with a chuckle. "My wife is a terrible kisser, though she tries her best."  
"You're married already?" Ryder leans forward, happy to shift the conversation. "You're barely older than Korvin, aren't you?"  
"Heh. I guess it was pretty quick," Traenid shrugs a little before letting out a sigh. "I guess we were just anxious. Everyone was signing up for the Resistance, and we didn't know if we were going to live much longer after we joined. So, we had a small ceremony before I was shipped here."  
"Where is she stationed?" Ryder's interest grows as he continues to listen.  
"Actually, she's with a mixed patrol on Eos at the moment, helping your people explore past Podromos and maybe even form an angaran settlement nearby," she replies. "I don't know if she'll go back to Havarl or be shipped somewhere else, though. Probably the latter. She's pretty damn curious."  
"Well, let's hope you two get to meet up soon after all of this is over," Ryder cracks a grin, Traenid soon reciprocating it.  
"There's no harm in hoping, I guess," she leans forward in her chair. "So, Pathfinder, tell me about your loverboy some more. He must be pretty damn good looking for you to be all the way out in this frozen wasteland without him."  
"Oh, totally," Ryder smiles through the white lie. "We're both soldier types: helping people, shooting bad guys, making explosions. When we met, something just clicked between us. He doesn't like how reckless I am, but I try to be careful."  
"He's going to have a fit over that scar, then," Traenid snickers. "I know how those protective types are."  
"He'll manage, I'm sure," Ryder reassures her. "You can't be a hero without a few battle scars to show for it, after all."  
"Ha!" Traenid shakes her head as she swivels back around. "Next time, save the scar making for when my ass isn't on the line, okay?"  
"It wouldn't be fun if everything went right, would it?" Ryder chuckles a bit, laying back on his stomach as he tries to get a little more sleep.  
"I guess not…" Traenid scoffs before switching manual control back on, the engine humming louder as she accelerates into the frozen wastes…

"Alrighty, Phoenix Team! Looks like our joyride is almost over," Veres' voice pierces through the transport, waking Ryder up from his unintentionally deep sleep. "Tell them what you told me, SAM."  
"I'm detecting several radio frequencies in the area ahead of us, as well as dramatic temperature fluctuations," SAM chimes through the speakers, the other members shifting in their stasis pods. "I believe it is coming from a nearby climate station."  
"How drastic are the fluctuations, SAM?" Jaal questions are he leans up from the comfortable mesh, running a finger underneath his eye.  
"The temperature routinely drops to a few degrees above absolute zero for several seconds approximately every three minutes," SAM replies. "The transport is capable of withstanding the temperatures so long as the fuel reserves are adequate."  
Ryder lets out a long yawn before sitting upright in the field, "How far are we from the station?"  
"Approximately 1.5 kilometers. I'm detecting a radar field a few hundred meters in front of the transport, so the rest of the journey will have to be made on foot to maintain an element of surprise."  
"With the temperatures outside, will we even be able to walk that far?" Korvin pokes into the conversation. "We're already down an environment pack, and the others aren't meant for this kind of weather."  
"Running diagnostic," SAM replies as he tries to find a solution. "I can redirect power from all other suit systems to life support in order to supercharge the system temporarily. Hypothetically, you will have approximately fifty minutes to seek shelter before the battery pack overloads."  
"Which means we have twenty-five minutes to get there and still be able to go back," Traenid elaborates.  
"Or, someone could drive in and get you before you freeze to death," Veres cuts into the growing squabble.  
"Either way, we have one shot at this," Jaal replies as he looks over at Ryder floating in the invisible chamber. "Captain, what should the plan be?"  
"Well, ngh, step one should be letting me out of this chamber. I'm getting lightheaded floating all the time," Ryder groans a bit as he twists slightly, the gash on his back much smaller despite still being a deep red.  
"You're not done healing, Ryder, but I'll let you down while we sort all of this out..." Veres chides him as she gets up, leaning over and unplugging several cords in a seemingly random sequence as Ryder lurches slowly downwards onto the stasis pod with a sigh of relief.  
"I agree with Veres, captain," Jaal's voice is slightly worried as the Pathfinder sits on the side of the pod. "I can lead the team into the outpost while you rest here in the transport."  
"You know that's not my style, Jaal," Ryder chuckles as he tries to stand up, his knees wobbling from the lack of use over however long he's been floating. "Someone get me a body wrap or something, then we can plan a little, okay?"  
Korvin and Traenid prepping their gear for whatever plan gets decided, Jaal hesitantly makes his way towards the offline hyperbaric pod as Veres finds a length of material somewhat like a stretchable gauze. Tossing it towards Ryder, he has to lean forward to catch it, his face wincing as his legs stumble slightly.  
"Thanks, Veres," he gives her a smile through the pain as she shakes her head slightly at the display. "I promise, after this, you can throw me in that pod for a week if you want."  
"I'll hold you to that," the medic scoffs as he makes his way over to their portable medi-gel dispenser. "But, I'll need to come with and make sure you wound doesn't reopen. Plus, my technical expertise will help us figure out how to get this climate station offline."  
"Which means I'm staying behind," Traenid speaks up as Korvin cranes his neck around in shock, almost getting a word out before she continues. "I'm terrible at infiltrating, we have no idea if another patrol is going to show up, and Korvin works best in groups."  
"B-But!" Korvin stammers out, tossing his helmet onto a stasis pod. "You'll be alone without an environment pack if a patrol really does show up, and I'm no better than you at infiltrating, maybe even worse. I should stay behind, too."  
"So, a three person strike team?" Ryder speaks up without questioning the two angarans, the generous amount of medi-gel on his cut freezing his nerves with a tingling numbness as he unravels his body wrap. "We'll have to be either really good, or really lucky. Any thoughts, Jaal?"  
"Hmm…" Jaal sighs slightly as he looks over at Ryder's back, the wound still messing with his focus as he tries to think over the idea. "We would be able to sneak a bit better, I suppose. And, I think we have the most overall experience in the team. Having a medic with us helps, too."  
"It's not the best plan, but I can't think of anything good right now," Veres shrugs as she goes over to her own gear, Ryder tightening his wrap like a loose girdle as she continues. "Our radio traffic will have to be offline until their communications are disabled. Hide this transport as best you can, and if someone comes, kill them before they can put the station on alert."  
"Got it," Traenid nods as she leans against a wall. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."  
"So, everyone ready?" Ryder speaks up, throwing on an insulated undershirt as the pain around his cut seems to fade away. Though medi-gel is capable of numbing the area and preventing any external bleeding, he knows his mobility is at the cost of his cut slowly reopening without him or SAM's implant knowing. "Except me, that is."  
"Ready," Veres and Jaal say in near unison, their armor attaching with silent magnetic locks as opposed to Ryder's metal plating clicking together. Unlike the excitement of ambushing the patrol, this step of the mission seems much more daunting, even for Ryder's risk-loving mentality…

Waving good luck back to Traenid and Korvin after the next pulse of particles passes, the three set off into the roaring blizzard, their visors nearly pitch black inside as SAM draws power into the environment pack. Due to their low visibility, the trio agreed on tying a length of rope around each person's waist, with Ryder in the front, Veres in the center, and Jaal in the back of the line. The blackened tracks on the ground winding left and right in front of them, the group sets off towards the end of the line, the snow too thick for any light or structure to be seen from where they're setting off.  
"SAM?" Ryder thinks aloud in his headset, knowing the others can't hear him. "Any idea what we're up against?"  
"If it is of similar importance, this station may have the same defensive strength as the exaltation facility you rescued the Moshae from," SAM answers him. "Due to their reliance on land-based transportation, reinforcements from another station seem unlikely to appear. To survive the supercooled particle dispersion, the kett may be using environment suits similar to our own, or could possibly have a high-power environment shield in the area below the dispensing point."  
"Either way, it sounds like a rough fight if we get spotted," Ryder grunts as he steps over a lump of snow, the material packing into the treading of his boots. "How do you think they built these things?"  
"Unknown," the AI replies, quickly adding on to his statement. "Use of supercooled particles in key wind channels reflects the inverse of terraforming patterns on the upper section of the equator."  
"So, they might be repurposing rem-tech to keep this blizzard going?" Ryder speculates, the thought of kett being able to reverse terraforming making him nervous.  
"Unlikely, but it is a possibility," SAM reassures the Pathfinder. "The kett may be developing technology based on Remnant designs instead of using the technology directly. Or, the similar pattern is merely a coincidence. Warning: a supercooled wave is about to pass over; bolstering systems."  
Suddenly, a sheet of frost blasts onto Ryder's visor, the heat of his environment suit melting it away as the snow below him flash freezes into a rocky texture. Giving a tug on the rope around his waist to make sure the other two were okay, he is relieved to feel Veres pull back, the small team slowly making their way to the station as SAM focuses on keeping the environment packs capable of taking the overcharges.  
After several waves of supercooled flashes, Ryder begins to make out the silhouette of a massive structure ahead of him, his stomach dropping at the sheer size of it. Jutting into the dark grey sky, the shadow of the kett spire is pitch black, an icy mountain rising beside it cut short into a craggy cliffside dwarfed by the structure. After around half a minute, the spire lights up as lines of dark orange fire up the tower, a deep blue flash at the peak of the facility lighting up the sky with a distant hum of energy. A few seconds later, the wave of supercooled particles rockets past them, the melting power of the life support systems much slower than when they started the trek.  
"Holy shit…" Ryder whispers under his breath, slowing down for a moment as he looks at how massive the machine is. Obviously, the Remnant counterparts are much more streamlined, and most likely much more efficient, too. "Communications better not be at the top of that thing, SAM."  
"It would be unfortunate, but I cannot determine the layout of the station without a direct link to the system," SAM replies, the group shuffling between the tracks as all of them are unable to take their eyes off of the spire. "Approximately 35 minutes are remaining before the battery packs burn out, Pathfinder."  
"We're definitely not turning back on this," Ryder replies with a huff as the path shifts into an incline, specks of the rest of the kett base dotting the horizon as they slowly rise over the hill.  
Making it to the top of the incline, the group tries to survey the area, squinting as they try to make out any buildings down below. From what they can see, several blurs surround the base of the spire, but the structure lacks any type of wall. Most likely, there used to be one when the kett were winning against the angara, but their lack of supplies probably ate away at the waste of perfectly-usable metal. Glad that their mission just got a bit easier, the trio picks up their pace as they make it downhill now, their boots kicking up puffs of snow as their target nears…

His legs aching slightly as frost creeps around his visor, Ryder detaches his pistol from his waist as the outer rim of the compound comes closer and closer, the dark-green plating of the nearest building glinting from above as it stabilizes on stilt-like beams above the ice and snow. Untying their rope and burying it nearby, the three realize that the difficult part was now about to begin, though they wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death for the time being..  
Gesturing to Jaal as they make their way to the base of one of the beams, Ryder gets on one knee to help hoist the angaran up, Veres following suit with a metallic clank. Watching them climb up through narrow foothold and quickly-welded bulkhead patches, he takes a few steps back, mentally preparing himself to access his biotic implant. Rushing forward, his nervous system shudders as he leaps into the air, a mass effect field tossing him in a steep arc as his weight temporarily becomes a fraction of what it usually is. Crashing into the beam unceremoniously, he hugs onto the side with a grunt, kicking at the plating until his boot snags onto a foothold. Taking a deep breath, he follows the others' path, Jaal already near the top of the support by the time he starts to climb. As Ryder reaches for another snag, a pain suddenly shoots up his side past the numbing effect of the medi-gel, making him grit his teeth as he struggles past the tearing wound. Breathing heavily, he makes his way to the top with a heavy sigh, Veres reactivating her angaran multi-tool as she scans the room above before the next supercooled wave hits. Giving Jaal and Ryder a reassuring nod, she types in several more buttons into the tool, sparks flying into the frozen air as a powerful arc cuts through the kett alloy in seconds. Holding up the square-shaped hunk of metal with her free hand, the floor of the building detaches with a groan and a snap, Veres lowering it slightly before letting fall into the snow below her. Deactivating her multi-tool, she slips through the newly-made hole with ease, sticking her hand back through to show that the coast was clear for the rest to make their way up. In a minute or so, Jaal and Ryder make their way into the room with relative ease, their plates scraping slightly against the jagged metal as SAM reactivates their main power systems inside the controlled environment.  
The room, the lighting and furnishings normal for kett outposts, seems to be some sort of storage room, though most of the few crates littering the room are empty with their lids leaning haphazardly against the nearest wall. To the team's right is a door, the keypad and command hologram indicating that it is unlocked as Ryder tries to tiptoe to it in his heavy winter boots.  
"There are two heat signatures coming from the other room, Pathfinder," SAM speaks up inside Ryder's head as he nears the door. "Both are laying a few feet off of the ground, so it is safe to assume that they are asleep. I would recommend either taking off your helmet or using gestures to communicate this to the others, as any type of radio communications would be detectable by kett."  
Nodding for a moment, Ryder detaches his helmet with a rush of warm air, letting out a sigh as he leans over to Jaal and Veres. "SAM says that there's two kett in the other room, but they're in stasis pods," he whispers as Jaal and Veres take off their helmets as well. "If we're quiet, me and Jaal can take them out while you try to get us a connection to the rest of the compound, Veres. Sound good?"  
"If these two are asleep, the rest of the facility may be on night watch, too," Jaal quickly adds, pulling out his firaan from a sheath on the side of his leg. The dagger seems to shimmer slightly under the artificial lighting, Jaal looking into it for a moment before he continues. "It would be better to not underestimate the kett, however. Ready when you are."  
"Let's hope we stay as lucky as we've been so far," Veres cracks a light smile before sliding her helmet back on, ready to start the end of the kett's final stand on Voeld.  
"Great," Ryder smirks back at the two before turning around and saying one last thing before clicking his helmet into place. "Let's kick some kett ass, Phoenix Team."  
Crouching low as he makes his way back to the door, Ryder activates his omni tool with a flash, accessing the door with a press of a button and opening it with another. With a slight hiss, the kett door detaches and slides into the ceiling, Ryder taking his first step into the final part of their journey into the cold...

**Author's Note:**

> (Well, there's the first chapter finished! I loved writing this out and would love some feedback if you can give any! Chapter Two will probably come out soon if there response to this is well enough :D)


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